The environment in which we live with plants and other animals has changed since biological systems first appeared. The composition of the air we breathe has continued to change. For example, there is reason to believe that the concentration of oxygen found within the air has decreased over time. The climate, including temperature, humidity, rainfall, snowfall, and the like has also been changing. It is further theorized that other important changes in the environment of the earth over time have been the marked decrease in atmospheric pressure, a decrease in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere, changes in the strength and orientation of the earth's magnetic field, and the change in the intensity and characteristics of the light radiation to which we are exposed. Furthermore, sounds of nature such as singing birds have become increasingly difficult to encounter due to a general decrease in the population of songbirds.
Many of the above and other changes are a natural result of the maturing of the earth. Other changes to the earth's environment are caused by purely natural events--volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tidal waves, glaciers, and the like alter the earth itself and the surrounding atmosphere. Other changes to the earth and its atmosphere are due entirely to man. Pollution, overpopulation, overdevelopment, overutilization of natural resources, fishing, hunting, and farming have all altered our world. As the human population continues to increase, the pace at which these changes occur will inevitably increase.
These changes in the earth and the surrounding environment have had a detrimental impact on plants and animals including man. Certain plants and animals have vanished from the earth, unable to adapt to the changed earth. Many of the remaining varieties of plants and animals have found it difficult to thrive. The fruits and vegetables of trees and plants have lost taste and nutritional value. Animals, including humans, are increasingly disease stricken, weak, and otherwise unhealthy. Humans seem to have lost their general sense of well being, leading to an increase in depression, suicides, crime, violence, sickness, and other social and physical ailments and have become increasingly lethargic with shortened attention spans.
The increasing physical and mental ailments of humans has led to a constant search for new and improved pharmaceuticals to combat these sicknesses. As one example, scientists are constantly searching the far reaches of the planet for naturally occurring antiviral and antibiotic substances. Once such naturally occurring substances are discovered, scientists may attempt to synthesize these drugs in a laboratory. While much progress has been made in the field of locating and synthesizing these compounds for use as pharmaceuticals, many ailments currently have no known effective treatment drugs or the causative agents have been able to adapt or modify their own structure to develop a resistance to such treatments. For example, many cancers and AIDS have been particularly resistant to pharmaceuticals located and/or synthesized using conventional methods in standard environmental conditions. It is believed that the changes in the earth's environment have prevented certain drugs from being created in nature, discovered, and/or synthesized, and has prevented the compounding of certain organic and inorganic elements.